Compressed-air lubricator.



PATENTED MAY i7, 1904.

G.v w. GAPBN. coMPREssBD AIR LUBRIoAToR.

ArrLloAnn rILnn nto. e. moz.

2 sums-summa.

"I0 IODEL.

. Snom/W6@ v en foin 01d No. 760,190. PATENTBD MAY`17,.1904.

, A G. w. GA'PEN.

\ GOMPRESSBD AIR LUBRIGATOR,

APPLICATION IEILl-ID DBO. 6 1902..

'2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 llllllllllll.llllllllllllllIllllIllIl/lll l UNITED:STATES;

Patented May 17, 1904.

PATENTIOFFrcE. l

GEORGE w. GAPEN, oF MILwAUKEE,-w1scoNs1N y ooMPREssEblm LUBnloA-lr'onl.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters-'Patent No. 760,190, dated May17', .1964;

Application filed December 6, 1902l Serial No. 134,114.- (Nomodel.) 1

To all whom, it may/.concerm Be it known thatl I, GEORGE W. GAPEN, acitizen of the United States, residing at Mil waukee, in the countyofMilwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and usefulCompressed-Air Lubricator, of which the following is a specification. f

The invention relates to compressed-air lubricators.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction ofcompressed-airy lubricators and to provide a simple and com-` parativelyinexpensive one designed for lubricating the air-pistons of air-pumps incompressed-air railway-brake systems andto. supplythe lubricant when thepump is in operation to charge the main reservoir.v

Another! object of the invention 1s to vpro:

vide a lubricator which will be controlled by the pump and which willoperate either slow or fast, according to the rapidity with which thepump is operated.

With these andv other objects inview the,

present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts,as will be herein-A after more fully described,- shown in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, itbeing understood that changes 4in the form, proportion, size, and minordetails, may be made within thescope of the appended claims withoutdeparting from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of theinvention.v L. .l f

In the drawings, Figure 1 is asideelevaf i tion showing the outline of alocomotive 1n;

dotted lines, with the present apparatus, including the'pump andthe mainreservoir, in full lines. Fig. 2 is a frontelevation of the lubricatorproper, parts beingl broken vaway to. show the interior thereof. Fig, 3Vis side elevation ofthelubricator, parts being broken away to show thevalve for preventing` back; pressure from the dome of the lubricatortothe pump. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially on theline 4 4 of Fig. 3. Like characters of reference designate correspondingparts in all the figures of the drawings.

For a general understanding of the relation between the presentlubricator proper with improvements in` @respect to the air-pump andmain reservoir of anv air-jbrake system r'eferen`ce'is` had to Fig. 1 ofthe drawings, wherein the character 1 illustrates the'lubricator',located within the cab of the locomotive, the air-pump being shown at 2land connected to the lubricator by means of the pipe 3,"which piercesthe top of the pump at one side of the center thereof, preferably in theopening commonly provided for the usual 'oil-cup., The referencecharacter 4 designates the mainv reservoir; which is vcharged withcompressed air from the pumpV by means ofthe pipe 5. ',With'theexceptionof the lubricatorv and the pipe 3vthe parts just described are commonand well known, and therefore' needv no detail illustration anddescription, andvfurt hermore, may be arranged in a different mannerupon the locomotive without aectingfthe operation ofthe present device.

provided at its back and atits lower end with a rearwardly-projectedbracket '7 ,"the outerI end of which is provided with asubstantially'.horizontal., screw-.threaded stem or post8 to bescrewedintoianiopeninginsome appropriv ate portion of they cabandisprovidedwitha suitable jam-nut 9. At'one'V side ,of the body is theusual filler-tube 10, of glass, havingthe hand-wheel 1 1'at itsupperendfor controlling the plug within the tube.- At'the'opposite side ofthebody there isf'the usual glass sight- `feed tube l12,l whichl isprovided at its upper end with..the bracketorfitting 13, having the pipeor, nipplerdfr, which Vfis screwed intothe' upper'endz'qf thefadja'centside of the body 6.-

trollingthevalve.

tudinally within the body 6 is an upstanding pipe 20, which is providedat its ,upper end with an elbow 21,'connected vto the pipe or nipple14.. The lower end of the pipe 20 is situated near the bottom of thebodyand is IOO Y t v 70 The lubricator proper has been shown in detailin Figs. 2, 3, andV 4 and comprises atubular or cylindrical upstandingbodyG, which is open, there being an open-ended valve-casing 22,detachably fitted to the bottom of the pipe and carrying a gravitycheck-valve 23. At the bottom of the body is a drip-tube 24, having anadjustable screw-threaded plug 25, transversely piercing the pipe, so asto normally close the same, and capable of being adjusted to open whenit is desired to clean the lubricator. At the top of the lubricator-bodyis a dome 26, which forms acompressed-air reservoir in communicationwith the top of the interior of the body vand provided at its lower endwith avalVe-controlling hand-wheel 27 for cutting off communicationbetween the dome and the oil reservoir or body 6. A bowed pipe28pierces'the top of the dome and has its lower end connected to the topof the .bracket 7 and communicates with the vertical passage 29, whichis formedin said bracket, the lower end of said passage or chamber beingin communication with a pendent nipple 30, to which is connected thepipe 3, that communicates between the lubricator and the air-pump. Theupper end of the passage or chamber 29 is provided with a gravitycheck-valve 31, so as to prevent back pressure from the-dome 26. Thebracket or plug 32, which supports the lower end of the sight-feed tubel2, has a hollow stem 33, which pierces the adjacent side of thereservoir 6, so as to establish a communication from the bottom of thesight-feed tube tothe chamber 29 in the bracket 7 .by means of a pipe orpassage 34, which extends through the interior of the reservoir 6 andconnects with the tubular stein portion 35 of the bracket 7. A- suitablegravity cheekvalve 36 is provided in this passage,.prefer ably in thatportion which lies within the stem 33, so as to be accessible through anormally closed opening in said stem. .The check-valve 36 is adapted toshut ofi' back pressure from the glass l2, and it will enable the latterwhen broken to be replaced by a new tube without requiring the pump tobe stopped for such purpose. As best shown in Fig.` 4, it will be seenthat 'the passage 34 communicates `with the chamber 29 in the bracket 7at a point below the check-valve 31.

' When the lubricator has been set up and connected to the air-pump bythe pipe 3 and the pump is started to charge the reservoir 4, the airwill be taken through the pipes 3 and 28 yto thedorne 26 and thence tothe oil-reservoir 6, whereby the pressure lifts -the valve 22 andforcesoil upwardly through the pipe 20 and into the sight -feed tubeafter it is passed through the passage 34 to the chamber I29, andfinally drops down through the pipe 3 to the pump, thereby supplyinglubricant to the airpiston during the operation thereof. As soon as thepressure in the main reservoir reaches a predetermined degree the pumpis stopped automatically in any well-known or commonly-employed mannerand the lubricator will cease its operation,' for the reason that theupward passage of air through the pipe 28 will cease. When the pumpworks slowly, the air will be forced slowly through the pipe 28, and thelubricator will conseq uently feed the oil slowly, and when the pump israpidly operated air will be forced rapidly through the pipe 28, and arapid feed of the lubricant will result. v

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the lubricatoris absolutely automatic and is in operation practically only when thepump is at work. Hence the oil is supplied only when required, and thelubricator requires no particular attention except for supplying oilthereto when required.

What is claimed is- 1. The combination of a lubricator, a pipe designedto communicate with an air-pump and provided with branches connected toopposite portions of the lubricator, and means including check-valves inthe branches of the said pipe to normally maintain a state ofequilibrium within the lubricator, and to open communication through oneof the branches from thelubricator to the pump when the latter isoperated.

2. `The combination of a lubricator having a dome at its upper end, apipe designed to communicate with a pump and extending to the said dome,a branch passage leading from the bottom of the lubricator to the saidpipe, a check-valve arranged in the branch passage, and anothercheck-valve located in the pipe at a point above the branch passage.

3. A lubricator comprising a body, an airsupply pipe connected to theupper end of the body, a feed-tube in communication with the interior ofthe body of the lubricator, a branch passage leading from the feed-tubeto the airsupply pipe, a check-valve in said passage, and a cheek-valvein the air-pipe and above the point of communication between the passageand the pipe.

4. A lubricator, comprising a body, an ail'- supply pipe incommunication with the top of the body, a feed-tube at one side of thebody and in communication with the upper portion thereof, a pipedisposed longitudinally within the body with its upper end incommunication with the feed-tube, a valve for the lower end of the pipe,a valved passage from the feedtube to the air-pipe, and a valve in theairpipe and above the valve-passage.

5.. A lubricator comprising a body, a supporting-bracket projectedlaterally from the lower portion of the body and provided with anintermediate vertical chamber, an air-supply pipe connected to the lowerend of the chamber, a branch pipe rising from the top of the chamber andcommunicating with the top of the body, a feed-tube supported by thebody at one side thereof, a valved passage connnunicating from the lowerend of the tube to the chamber in the bracket, a valve in the chamberand above the passage, and a pipe disposed IOO with its upper end incommunication withY the pipe, a supporting-bracket projected laterallyfrom the lower portion of the body and provided with an upright chamberwhich is open at opposite ends, a valve in the upper part of thechamber, an air-supply pipe connected to the lower` end of the chamber,a valved pas# sage leading from the lower portion of the v feed-tube tothe chamber at a point below the valve thereof,-and a pipe leading fromthe top of the chamber to the top-of the body.

7'. In a lubricator, the combination with an upright body having adomein communication with its upper end, and provided at itsV lower endwith a laterally-projected bracket having an upright chamber which isopen at opposite ends, of an air-supply pipe connected to the lower endof the chamber, a valve for the `upper portion of the chamber, apipeleading from the top of the chamber to the dome, a Valved uprightpipe within the body with its lower end dipped into the lubricant, anupright Valved feed tube supported at its lower end upon the bodywithits upper portion in communication with the upper end of the pipe in thebody, and a valved passage leading fromV the lower end of the feed-tubeto the chamber at a point below the valve thereof.

In testimony that I claimthe foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE W.- GAPEN.

VVi-tnesses:

B. A. Go'rHoMrsoN, JOHN D. GERMANN.

